The Bastard
by IceHeart161
Summary: Kate Singleton doesn't know who she is, where she's from, or why, as an American Catholic, she has been invited to go to Hogwarts.
1. Prologue

Changed some of the errors about Catholocism, there's probably still mistakes, so I'm sorry for those.

Changed to go along with HBP.

Prologue

Kate Singleton knew what most normal eleven year olds should be doing on a Saturday afternoon. Hanging out with friends, or staring blankly at a television set. Normal eleven year olds wouldn't be caught dead at church, and they would never, under any circumstances, be cleaning out the oven as punishment for playing a joke on one of the priests. "Father Hanaday deserved it," Kate muttered, throwing another paper towel in the wastebasket.

"Are you almost done in here yet," one of the older girls, Mary Grace, asked. "Sister Kelley said that no one can eat lunch until your done, and _we're_ hungry."

Kate rolled her eyes, Mary Grace couldn't think of anyone but herself. "I'm done now." Mary Grace's eyes lit up.

"Great," she put her arm around Kate's shoulders and led her out of the room. "What was it you did this time? And why?"

"It was just a stupid prank, doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters! No one but you is willing to do anything to the priests. The new nuns, of course, but Father Hanaday? No way."

Kate rolled her eyes. Mary Grace was just like all of the other girls over fourteen, they talked the talk, but when it came to acting, they wouldn't know what to do if God handed them an instruction manual. "He annoyed me during religion class."

Mary Grace stopped in her tracks, "Uh-oh, what did he say?"

"I'm not sure of the exact scripture, something about premarital 'relations' and illegitimate children. It wasn't very nice." Kate shrugged. "He was looking at me when he said it."

"You're not a bastard."

"You just don't get it, Gracie," Kate glared, "_You_ have the luxury of knowing that your parents died in a car accident. Me? I was dropped here in a basinet with identification, and a bank account number for somewhere in England. You're the orphan, I'm most likely an unwanted blemish on some rich guys family tree."

"No, Kate, you don't get it." Mary Grace stalked off, presumably to eat lunch. Kate, though, all of the sudden, wasn't hungry. She went to the small room that she shared with three other girls. Our Lady Of Sorrows Catholic Church housed an orphanage, but the sisters did their best to keep it personal.

Kate sat on her bed and looked at the ceiling, maybe she was lucky and God was checking in on her. "I just want to know who I am," she told the ceiling, "I know I'm young, but I a few answers, or a clue, I'm willing to search." Something knocked on the window. Kate jumped. It was an owl, in broad daylight. "I home this is a sign," she muttered. She let the tired looking owl it. "Hm, that's strange." There was a fancy looking letter strapped to it's foot. On the outside it said:

Kate Singleton

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

Room 15, Bottom bunk #2

"Freaky," few letters were addressed in so much detail, or delivered by brown owls. Kate opened the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

WITCHCRAFT WIZARDRY

Dear Miss Singleton,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted  
at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please  
find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no  
later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress

"Hogwarts school of what craft and whatardry?" This had to be some kind of joke, a set up by one of the other girls. Witchcraft didn't exist. That meant this school had to be as phony as a three dollar bill.

"Well, Kathryn," said Sister Mary Angeline, the only nun who'd never called her Kate, "I knew you'd find out sometime. Let's feed that poor bird, I'm surprised she made it all the way from England. Then, we need to talk."

* * *

Reviews are my life's blood 


	2. 1: A Magical Starbucks

Still sorry if I've made more mistakes.

Chapter One

Kate sat in a chair in an administrative office. "Magic does exist, Kathryn, I should know, all of my family is magical. I, however, was not born with that gift. Because of who your parents are--"

Kate cut her off, "Are, as in still alive?"

The sister continued, ignoring Kate's interruption. "They could not acknowledge your existence, at the very least, all three of you would have most likely been killed. Your mother met me through a series of her contacts, she found out that I live here and asked if the sisters could shelter you."

"Why does some English school want me, though?"

Now Sister Angeline paused, "Your parents were British, they went to that school."

"If my parents were British, why did they abandon me in America?"

Sister Angeline seemed to be thinking about how to kindly phrase her response. "As I have said, you were in danger. Don't consider what your mother did abandonment, Kathryn. She did what she had to do to ensure your survival. As for the choice of country, well, who would think to look three thousand miles away? America was obvious in it's simplicity."

I was right all along, Kate thought, _I really am a bastard._

Kate thought, 

"Now, you have a choice to make. Think about it." The sister stood up, "But don't think for to long."

Kate nodded and sat in the office for a few more minutes. A woman walked in, "Katie, what are you doing in here?"

It was Anne Bryant, a volunteer, "Sorry," said Kate, "I was talking to someone."

Anne smiled, "You know it's no problem." She paused, "Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"Oh, you know me, Anne," she plastered on a fake smile, "Just getting another lecture. I really didn't think Father Hanaday would be that mad." She laughed nervously and walked out of the office.

Kate walked back to her room muttering, "Decisions, decisions, decisions."

* * *

It took her four days to reach a decision. She tracked down Sister Angeline, "I want to do it," she said. "I want to go to the school in England."

The sister nodded. "All right. I'll contact my sister. She can help you with your supplies, and she'll send your notification to Hogwarts."

Kate nodded. "Am I doing the right thing?" she asked after a moment.

"Do you think it's right?"

Why did the sister have to be ambiguous. "I want to do it, but what about God? If I'm going to learn magic, how can I still be Catholic?"

"I have a somewhat different view on the subject of magic, given my background. Magic is not evil. Like so many other things, it can be _used_ for evil, but it can also be used for good. As long as you think it's right, and your faith is strong, I don't see why God would have a problem." She started to walk away, "Although," she looked over her shoulder, "Perhaps we should keep this between us. Some of the other sisters aren't as open minded as I am."

Kate nodded and walked to her room. Anna, one of her roommates was laying down. She sat up when Kate walked in. "What's up?"

"You know how I told you about that boarding school in England?"

Anna thought for a moment, "Yeah, what about it?"

"I'm going there."

Anna's face lit up, she hugged Kate and laughed, "Awesome! You're going to get an accent and everything!"

"Uh, yeah, right. I hadn't really thought of that."

"That's so great. And, of course, more room here for the rest of us." Kate shoved her shoulder.

* * *

Two weeks passed. With each day, Kate grew more impatient. She was ready to go to this school, ready to leave the state of Ohio, not to mention the country, for the first time in her conscious memory. Finally, the day came when Carry Parker, Sister Angeline's sister, would take her shopping for her supplies.

"So your name is Kathryn?" Mrs. Parker said once they were alone on the street waiting for Mrs. Parker's car. Kate's suitcase was on the ground at her feet.

"Everyone calls me Kate."

"Kate, then, are you excited?" Her eyes lit up.

"A little, scared too. England's pretty far away." She shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Hogwarts is a wonderful place. My husband went there, and our son is a prefect this year."

"I thought you were an American."

Mrs. Parker laughed, "I was born here, but now I live in England with my husband and our three children." A limo pulled in front of them and stopped. "Ready?"

"When you said car, I thought you meant, well, car." Kate had never ridden in a limo before.

"This is just a little more spacious. Is there a problem?"

"No."

A chauffer came out of the car and opened the door for them. They got in the car and pulled away from the church. "How will I pay for everything I need?" Kate asked.

Mrs. Parker held up a slip of paper. "This is a vault number for a bank in England. I assume your parents left you some money."

"Do you know anything about my parents?" It was worth a shot to ask.

"No, honey, I'm sorry. I really don't."

Kate nodded, "You said this bank is in England?" Mrs. Parker nodded. "Do they have an office near here?"

"Not exactly." The limo stopped.

Kate looked out the window. "Where are we?"

Mrs. Parker said, "Come on, I'll show you." The limo driver opened the door and they stepped out, Kate with her bag in hand. There was a broken ATM in front of them. Mrs. Parker punched in the numbers 8247 and a door appeared. They stepped through it. "Welcome to Boulevard four and a half."

"What?"

"There are seven streets like this in the USA and Canada. These are…magical marketplaces. But first, we need to go to Gringotts."

"Gringotts?"

"The bank."

"I thought you said the bank was in England."

"Stop trying to think of the magical world like the Muggle, non-magic, world. Gringotts is an international bank. However, unlike in the Muggle world, all monetary transactions take place in person, not online. When a person opens an account at the bank, they put their money in a vault. This isn't like the American Federal Reserve system, you do know what that is?"

Kate thought for a moment, "Isn't it something about banks not needing to keep all of their customers money on hand at all times?"

"Yes, something like that. Anyway, your money is your money, it stays in a vault until you choose to retrieve it."

"But isn't this bank in England?"

"Yes, but it is also here. I don't really know how to explain it. Suffice to say, when you enter the doors in any country, you can access your vault. It's much more complicated than that, but I'm not sure you'd understand."

Kate was already confused, so she just smiled and nodded. They entered the bank, Kate tried to look outside, but the glass on the doors was white and she couldn't see through it. "Vault number?" The strange creature at the desk asked.

"1210," replied Mrs. Parker.

"And do you have the key to that vault?"

Mrs. Parker rolled her eyes, "Of course," she pulled it out of her pocket, "Here."

The creature led them to a trolley. They both sat down. "Keep your hands and feet on the inside of the trolley." He pulled a lever and they started careening down a dark tunnel.

Kate considered it her first roller coaster ride. A few minutes later, they screeched to a halt. "Vault 1210," the creature announced. He hopped off the trolley and opened the heavy looking door.

Kate walked inside and her mouth dropped open. "Oh. My. God." She turned to Mrs. Parker. "Is this all mine?" There were piles of gold and silver, three feet tall. Mrs. Parker nodded solemnly. "You're kidding? There's so much!"

"Perhaps your parents were very wealthy."

"Miss Singleton," the creature said, "I was told to give this to you upon your arrival." He handed her a letter.

"Thank you." He nodded.

"Quick, Kate, gather your money, we must be off." Mrs. Parker checked her watch.

Kate locked around the room again, "But I don't know how much to take."

Mrs. Parker gathered some coins and put them in a purse. "This will be enough for a year or three, trust me. Do you want anything else while we're down here?" Kate shook her head. "Good, let's be off."

Clutching her letter tightly, Kate sat down in the trolley. Once they were on the main floor again, she asked, "Can we grab some lunch, or something?"

"Are you hungry, or do you want to read your letter?"

Kate smiled sheepishly, "A little of both, actually."

"How about Starbucks?"

"There's a Starbucks on a hidden street in the magical world? You're joking!"

Mrs. Parker shook her head, "Sadly, no, we do have a Starbucks, it's pathetic, really, but this is the only franchise in the magical world, as far as I know. Are you up for it?"

Kate nodded and they headed off to buy three dollar coffees. Once they were seated, Kate opened her letter.

Dear Kathryn,

I know you have questions. At this point in time, they can't  
be answered. You'll hate that, undoubtedly, but it is the  
truth. I am so proud of you. Though you have never met me  
know that I love you. I know that you will do great things,  
best of luck this year, I will write again.

With love,

Your Mother

Kate dropped the letter on the table. "What is it?" asked Mrs. Parker.

Kate swallowed. "That letter. It was from my mother."

* * *

Reviews, they always help


	3. 2: Cost Doesn't Matter

Fixed the money thing

Chapter Two

For the first time in her life, Kate understood what people meant when they said that the floor dropped out from under them. After almost twelve years of living in an orphanage, of being told she was an orphan, there was solid proof that her mother was alive. Mrs. Parker didn't seem to understand, she smiled and said, "That's wonderful. Now, do you have your school supplies list." Numbly, Kate handed it over. The letter from her mother didn't make her feel happy like she thought it would. It made her said, lonely.

Abandoned.

"Ah, robes!" Mrs. Parker seemed excited, "I love shopping for robes! My son hats it." Kate nodded. "There are two robe stores here. Robes for all Walks, and The Robe Store, though The Robe Store is the Wal-Mart of robe shops, if you know what I mean." Kate tried to smile, but she couldn't. Mrs. Parker didn't seem to notice. "Are you done with your drink?"

"Yeah."

Mrs. Parker pulled out her wand and said something in Latin. At Kate's wide eyes she said, "Well, I guess you've never seen magic before, have you?"

No, we had wizards popping in and out of the CATHOLIC ORPHANAGE I was raised it, she thought viciously. "No, it's cool."

"You'll know far more than that simple vanishing spell by the time your done at Hogwarts."

"Did you say Hogwarts?" A man at the table next to them asked. Mrs. Parker nodded. He shuddered. "That's a cursed place. You-Know-Who and most of his followers were trained there."

"So was Harry Potter."

Kate interrupted, "Okay, I don't Know Who, and who is Harry Potter?"

"Muggle born?" the man asked.

"Something like that," said Mrs. Parker.

"What's a Muggle?"

Mrs. Parker gathered her purse. "We have a lot of shopping to do, Kate." She walked toward the door, knowing Kate would follow her.

Kate didn't let up on her inquiry, though. "What's a Muggle?"

"A person who doesn't do magic. Someone who isn't a witch or wizard." She steered them through the crowded street.

"What's a You-Know-Who?"

Mrs. Parker made an impatient noise. "An evil wizard."

"And Harry Potter?"

"The wizard who killed You-Know-Who." She turned abruptly. "We're here."

"Why is the guy called You-Know-Who?"

"Let's find you some robes, shall we?" An older woman wearing honest to God robes walked up to them, "We need some robes for this girl here."

"Starting your first year?"

Kate nodded.

"East or West?"

"Actually," said Mrs. Parker, "She's going to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts! I didn't peg you for a Brit! Right this way, please." She led them into a back room and made Kate stand on a stool. "Let me just take your measurements." Three measuring tapes were working simultaneously on her. A clipboard was floating in midair while a feather pen scratched at the paper on it. "I'll have to make the Hogwarts robes specially, when will you be needing them by?"

"Tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest."

The woman raised an eyebrow, "A rush like that will cost you a pretty Knut."

"Cost isn't a problem. Can you do it?"

"Of course."

"Wonderful, what time will they be ready?"

"5:30 tonight, is there anything else?"

Mrs. Parker looked down at the list, "Do you make winter cloaks?"

"Your order will be ready by six." The old witch seemed to be counting her profit in her head.

"Wonderful. We'll be back." They walked out. "Now we need to get you a hat and gloves," she said once they were on the street.

"What's a Knut?"

"You are inquisitive, it's wizarding money, similar to a dollar." She walked briskly, crossing the street once. Kate felt like she was being crushed on all sides by the people on the street, but no one seemed to be touching Mrs. Parker. "Ah, the Accessory Emporium, any accessory you could ever need, all in one place."

"Wouldn't that make this the Wal-Mart of accessories?" Kate asked, now confused at Mrs. Parker's earlier prejudice.

"Oh, no, my dear, this store has _quality_ products. Most American purebloods come here for their accessory needs."

Kate was still confused, "Pureblood? You mean there are different kinds of wizards?"

"Oh, yes my dear, I'll explain later. You need to know about purebloods, and the others, _that_ important information." A salesperson walked up to them, "We need a hat and the finest dragon hide gloves appropriate for a first year witch." Mrs. Parker seemed used to dealing with servants.

"Right away, Miss." The man hurried off in search of her things.

Kate looked around where she was, there was a container that seemed to be moving, slithering around. She walked closer and peered down. It _was_ moving, and it almost seemed to be hissing. She reached her hand towards it. The closer she got, the louder it grew, but she couldn't pull her hand back. Kate felt a hand on her shoulder. "Try these on," said Mrs. Parker, handing her a set of thick leather gloves.

They fit Kate's hands perfectly, like they were made of her. "These are great for new students," the man said. "They'll expand to fit your hand as you grow, and once they prove no longer sufficient for the materials you're handling, you can just buy a new pair. However, these are extremely tough, and, as I said, you won't outgrow them."

"Wonderful, we'll take them. Now, the hat." She plopped it down on Kate's head. "Yes, that'll do. Wrap it up," he nodded and walked to the counter. As Kate looked around, Mrs. Parker went to pay.

She came back with no bags. "Are we picking the stuff up later?"

Mrs. Parker laughed, "I've shrunk the packages, they're in my pocket, I'll simply enlarge them when we need them." Kate nodded. "Now for books. Grimiores is the place." She led them across the street again and into a bookshop unlike one Kate had ever seen. Even on television. Barnes and Noble, this was not. "Sit here, I'll take care of this, and don't touch anything." She walked up to the counter and handed a list to the man seated behind the wooden structure. A few minutes later, he came back with a stack of books, and in the blink of any eye, they shrunk to fit in Mrs. Parker's pocket.

Mrs. Parker returned. "We just have one more stop where we can get everything but your wand. That we'll pick up tomorrow. The store is a bit of a distance. Come now, we need a cauldron, a set of crystal phials, a telescope, and a set of brass scales." Again they went through the same routine, Mrs. Parker led them to the street, and to a store where she told the salesperson what she needed, then she received the stuff, paid with Kate's money, shrunk it and stuck it in her pocket. "I don't know about you," she said once she was done, "But I am beat. Let's go to The Inn and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we'll get your wand, and then it will be off to Hogwarts."

Kate nodded numbly. She, too, was tired. They headed to the hotel, aptly called The Inn and settled into their room for the night. By eight-o'clock, Kate was sound asleep.

"Rise and shine," Kate heard someone say distantly. "We have a long trip ahead of us, come now." It was Mrs. Parker. Why was she so chipper. Kate opened her eyes. "Once you're ready, we'll eat breakfast and head out. Be quick, though." Kate looked out the window, by the sun's place in the sky, it was really early. She dressed quickly and ate a bagel afterwards.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked as they finished they're breakfast.

"England," Mrs. Parker said like it was an everyday occurrence for orphans to take transatlantic trips at the drop of a hat.

Kate spit out her bite of bagel. "Did I hear you right? Cause it sounded like you said England."

Now, Mrs. Parker was condescending, "Well, when did you think you'd go to school?"

"It's just really sudden."

"Don't worry, it's not so bad. Travel by portkey it so quick, you hardly know it happened."

"Portkey?"

"I'll explain later." Of course she would. Once they were done she led them out of The Inn and to what looked like a train station. "Portkey travel is heavily regulated, wouldn't want to land on a Muggle and have all of the those questions pop up. We're taking the 8:30 AM to London. That means that we'll arrive in London at roughly 2:31 PM London time."

"What's the time difference?"

"Six hours, why?"

Kate thought about if for a second, "We'll be traveling for a minute? You must have the time wrong."

"We're magic folk, Kate. We do things differently." They sat on a bench for a few minutes until they're transport was announced. In that time, Mrs. Parker explained Portkeys to Kate. Finally they were ready to go. "Remember, you don't have to touch the object, just me." The object in question was a day old London newspaper. Kate grabbed Mrs. Parker's hand. Suddenly, she felt a tugging sensation near her navel, and then, it was done. She was sitting on the ground, in the middle of another, completely different Portkey Station. "Well," said Mrs. Parker. "We're here. Let's get your wand."

They walked out onto a street called Diagon Alley. Mrs. Parker didn't have to explain what it was. Kate was eleven, she wasn't stupid. They walked to a store, Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. "Just go in there, I have to pick up some potion supplies, I'll be back soon." Kate nodded and walked in.

"Good afternoon," said a creepy man who looked strangely like David Bowie, except a lot older.

"Hi," Kate said nervously, "I need an, um…" she felt silly saying it.

"A wand, of course."

"That's the one."

"I'll need your name, I can't place you, who are your parents?" He seemed truly curious, not just polite.

"Trust me, sir, that it the question of the week. I'm Kate Singleton."

"I've never heard the name. Are you a Muggleborn?" Now he was prying.

"That's another of those questions."

"It's of no matter." He walked in back. A few minute later he walked back, carrying several boxes. "This is a beautiful wand, eleven inches, ebony, unicorn hair core. Give it a try." She flicked it around. Nothing happened, "No, here. Seven-and-a-half inches, yew, with dragon heartstring." Again nothing. They went through several more until he handed her, "Oak, twelve inches, dragon heartstring, very sturdy." The wand felt warm in her hand. She flicked it around, blue sparks shot out from it. "A very nice wand, seven Galleons and three Sickles."

"I have to wait for Mrs. Parker to get back, she has my money."

"Very well."

She sat down on a stool. A few minutes later, Mrs. Parker came back. She paid. As they headed out the door, Mr. Ollivander called after them, "Good luck, Miss Singleton. That wand will help you do great things."

Kate just nodded. Mr. Ollivander seemed a little crazy, but she'd humor him.

* * *

Ah, yes, now time for the reviews. 


	4. 3: The Truth About Purebloods and Others

_(A/N: I'm sorry if I'm off on teatime. I looked up what I could online, but I've never actually taken tea, we didn't have time for it when I was in England, so just go with me, please.  
Also, Mrs. Parker's spiel is meant to be biased and not necessarily true, so that is not my opinion, or fact, just her way of telling it.  
Okay, I'm veryveryveryveryveryveryvery sorry about not updating for four months, I know I said I couldn't update for two weeks because I'd be on vacation, but then vacation turned into reading the 6th book and then in turned into going to college. I hope I'm getting back on track now.  
And, of course, thanks to the wonderful reviewers for chapter two:dracochick _(this takes place between twelve and fifteen years after the trio graduates_), IRlost, TornIntoPieces _(Hogwarts in the next chapter_), A League of Their Own Fan_ (I don't think so, and for the purpose of the story, no) _Caligrl-HPLVR, Chantal J and Sam, CPO3 _(sorry about the currency thing, I'll probably go back and change it at a later date_.)  
Again, very sorry about the delay.)_

Chapter Three: The Truth About Purebloods and Everyone Else

Kate didn't know how much time had passed, but, very suddenly, she found herself at Mrs. Parker's house. It was huge. "You didn't say you lived in a palace."

Mrs. Parker laughed, "Oh, dear, this isn't a palace, just a manor house. Now come on, I'm sure the children would love to meet you." She lead Kate to the front door which was opened by some strange…creature wearing a pillowcase.

"Um, Mrs. Parker, what exactly _is_ that?"

"That's Mimby, one of our three house elves." She looked down at the thing, "Take Miss Singleton up to her room. We'll have tea in twenty minutes."

"Of course," Mimby curtsied and gestured to Kate, "Follow me, please, Miss." They went up two staircases to a room in a blue hallway. "This be your room, Miss, if you is needing anything, just ask the blue dragon statue."

"Thank you, Mimby." The elf squeaked and disappeared. Kate sat on the bed, it was a four poster made of some sort of red wood. The comforter was red with silver stitching. There was an actual walk-in closet. Her clothes were already hung.

"No," Kate heard a voice whisper, "I want to see her first! I'm older."

"Only by a minute, now, get out of my way." Kate opened the door and two kids tumbled in, they were only about nine years old. "Um, hi?" One, the boy, said.

"We were just checking out your door," the girl said, shoving her brother in the shoulder, "We wanted to make sure it wouldn't fall apart when you were asleep or anything scary like that, right, Nathan?"

"Er, yeah, that's it."

Kate nodded, "I'm Kate, but you probably knew that."

"Merlin!" said the girl, "Your accent is so cool! I want one."

"No," said Nathan, the boy, "I want one!"

"I'm sure if you both try really hard, you can both have an accent like mine. But you have to practice talking like me every day. So, I know you're Nathan, but what's your name?" She asked the girl.

"I'm Adelaide, but everyone calls me Addy." There were footsteps down the hall, "We need to go now, and if you see Mum, could you not tell her that you saw us?"

"Sure, no problem." Apparently the twins didn't listen to their mother's orders, they sounded like fun.

A few minutes later, Mimby came back to take Kate downstairs. Nathan and Addy were seated, now wearing nice clothes obviously meant to impress. "Ah, Kate, have a seat," said Mrs. Parker. "This is Nathan," she said, gesturing to the boy, "And this is Adelaide." She sat down, as did Kate. Trays with little sandwiches with cucumbers in them, cakes, scones, and a variety of other treats. Mrs. Parker floated a cup and saucer full with tea to her. Kate stared at it, fascinated, for almost a minute before a polite cough from the woman reminded her to grab the cup. The tea sloshed over the side, burning her fingers and she accidentally dropped the cup on the floor.

"I'm really sorry," she knelt down to pick up the pieces of broken china.

"Stand up, child," said Mrs. Parker, "It's no trouble." Nate and Addy were looking at each other with wide eyes, their mother would never have been so nice to them. She pointed her wand at the pieces of the cup, "_Reparo_," they reassembled themselves and sat on the ground, good as new.

Kate picked it up with wide eyes. "Wow."

Then Mrs. Parker pointed her wand at the ground, "_Scourgify._" The carpet was as clean as it was before. "The children have learned how to grab floating teacups, I forgot that you'd never done it before." She smiled, "Put the cup on the table." Kate did, and before her eyes, the teapot glided across the table and filled up the cup. "Sugar? Milk?"

"No, thank you." Kate picked up the tea, this time without any trouble, and sipped quietly. A few minutes later a boy walked in. He was tall, probably about fourteen or fifteen, and he had light brown hair. He wasn't remarkable, but Kate noticed that he wasn't wearing regular clothes like everyone else in the room. His outfit looked like some kind of church robe.

"Mum, the robes are too big. I told you I needed to be fitted. You can't just give those _people_ sizes, their bound to screw things up." He noticed Kate, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we had company, I'm Braden."

"Kate," she said.

"American, are you?"

"Yeah," this bit was going to get old fast, she could tell, and she wasn't even at the school yet.

"Sit, Braden," said his mother, gesturing to an open seat next to Kate, "Have some tea with us. I'll see to it that the robes are fixed."

"Right." He sat down on the couch next to Kate and his mother floated a teacup to him, he caught it with no trouble. They sat and drank their tea, Kate wondered if Mr. Parker would show up, but he never did. After everyone was finished, Mrs. Parker stood up, this was obviously some sort of signal because the twins walked quickly out of the room.

"Feel free to look around on the first floor a little, Kate. We have a rather large library just down the hall."

Kate was about to speak when Braden said, "If you'd wait a few minutes, I'll give you a tour, I just need to change out of these robes."

"What a wonderful idea!" said Mrs. Parker.

"Um, sounds great." Kate remained seated on the couch while Braden left the room, presumably to change clothes.

Five minutes later he was back. "Let's get started." Kate stood up, Mrs. Parker had long since left the room, "So, if you're an American, why are you going to Hogwarts?"

Kate sighed, maybe she should just learn a British accent, "I guess my parents went their."

"You guess?" He turned into a room.

"Yeah, I grew up in an orphanage." She shrugged.

"Sorry."

"I'm used to it."

"Well, anyway, this is the dining room. There's a lot of expensive china in the cabinet, but I won't bore you with the history of it, suffice to say, it's been in the family for years."

She walked closer to the table, it looked like mother-of-pearl, only more iridescent. Her fingers ached to touch it.

"Don't," said Braden, "Mum gets really mad if we touch the table when we eat, I wouldn't want you to get into trouble."

Kate pulled her fingers back, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He took her into a parlor, this one different from the one they'd had tea in, and then a portrait room.

"Braden," Kate whispered, "Why are the paintings moving?"

He looked at her like she'd grown a second head, "All paintings move." At her blank look he asked, "Don't they in the Muggle world too?"

"No, they really don't. Haven't you ever been out in the Muggle world?"

His eyes widened, "Of course not! That's much to dangerous, especially for Purebloods."

"What is this Pureblood thing? I keep hearing it," before he could answer, she had another question, "What about your mom's sister, you've never visited her?"

"Mum doesn't have a sister."

Kate rolled her eyes, they were sitting on a bench against the wall, "She was one of the nuns that raised me. Honestly, she's a little scary. She said she was a skid, wait no, not squid, slid? Um…"

"Squib?"

"Yeah! A squib, that's it."

He nodded, "That's why I don't know about her. Mum was probably waiting until she thought I was old enough to handle the disgrace."

"Disgrace?"

He moved his head closer to hers and whispered, as if he didn't want the portraits to hear, "She doesn't have magic. I don't think there's anything worse that can happen to a wizarding family." He sat back up, "Don't tell Mum that you told me, alright? And don't tell Nate and Addy, I don't think they could handle it."

Kate nodded.

"What's a none?" he asked.

She laughed, "You seriously don't know what a nun is?"

"No, it doesn't even make sense. You must not be using the word properly."

"Right," she said, "It's spelled n-u-n, not n-o-n-e. Are you supposed to be smart, like a perfect or something?"

"Prefect."

She smirked, "Look it up, then." He glared at her, but it was playfully. Then he led her into the library and Kate's jaw dropped. It looked like it had as many books as the library in _Beauty and the Beast_. "How do you get the books on the top shelve?" They were at least twelve feet high.

"Since I am nicer than you," he began, "I'll do more than tell you to 'look it up,' even though you are in the perfect place to do so."

She stuck her nose in the air like she was a spoiled rich lady, "And I shall thank you."

He walked over to one of the shelves and opened a book that was on a stand in front of it. Kate noticed that there were similar books in front of every shelf. "Just browse the titles in this book, and then put your finger in this little box here," there was a box next to every title and synopsis, "For five seconds and voila, you have your book." A book floated off of the shelf and landed at the nearest table. "Of course, if you know what book you want, you just say it, and be sure to add please, or you won't get anything."

"Will you show me?"

"Sure," he looked at the back wall of the library, "Standard Book of Spells (Grade One). Please." Within seconds, the book was on the table.

"Wow, how do you reshelf them?"

"Oh, you just leave them on the table and they reshelf themselves after awhile."

Kate nodded, "If you don't mind, I'm going to stay in here for awhile."

"Have fun, I'll just continue looking through my textbooks. I want to be prepared. You might think about doing the same so you don't fall behind."

Kate smiled, "You're not serious, right? It's still summer."

"You've never had summer assignments?"

She shook her head.

"Well, say goodbye to that." He left the room.

Kate sat down at the table with the two books on it and began leafing through them. There were spells to do everything! She could float things in the air, just like Mrs. Parker had done, and make her wand light up like a flash light, and fix broken things. Those were just three of the spells that she read through.

She didn't know how much later, but Mrs. Parker walked in and sat down next to her, "Ah," she said, "The Standard Book of Spells, that book will be more useful than most anything else in the wizarding world."

"I can't wait to be able to do this stuff!"

Mrs. Parker smiled, "This may seem out of the blue, but I promised to explain it to you, so I will."

"Purebloods?" Kate guessed.

"Exactly. Now, there are different types of wizards, like I told you earlier. There are Muggleborns, they come from Muggle families, as you would suspect and usually don't have enough respect for magic. Don't tell this to many people, but they tend to be worse at magic than anyone else. Then there are half-bloods. They have one wizard parent and one Muggle parent, or two Muggleborn parents. Their much better at magic then Muggleborns because they have more magic in their blood."

Kate nodded, it made sense, sort of.

"Of course, the Purebloods are at the top, they tend to be best at magic because they have the most magic in their blood. Pureblodded families consist of generations of wizards and witches, not just a generation or two, like the half-bloods. It's all very simple, really."

Kate nodded again, but something was still bothering her, "What about…" What was that word again? "Squibs?"

"I believe that Muggles would call that a birth…affect."

"Defect?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, defect. It happens, luckily not often, where someone from a magical family is born without magic. Usually it happens to half-blood families. Though, as the case is with my family, it can happen to Purebloods." She shook her head, "It's very tragic. Almost like being born deaf, or without fingers."

Kate's eyes widened, that was not a pleasant image. "Um, thanks for telling me."

"It's no trouble, really. We'll be eating shortly, I'll send Mimby for you then."

"Has it really been that long?" Kate looked out the windows, it was getting dark, "I guess it has. Thanks."

Mrs. Parker smiled and left the room. Several minutes later, Mimby came for her. "I am to escort Miss to the dining room."

"Thank you, Mimby."

The little creature gave a squeal, apparently many people didn't bother to remember her name. That was a shame. Once she was in the dining room, a chair pulled itself for her at the beautiful iridescent table. The twins and Braden were already seated. A few minutes later, a tall blond man walked in. He saw Kate and said, "You must be Kate Singlesmar?"

"Singleton, sir," she said.

"Yes, sorry. I'm Declan Parker."

"Nice to meet you." After this, Mrs. Parker walked in. Seconds later, the food appeared on the table. The meat was turkey, but there was every side dish she could think of, and some she wouldn't have. There was way too much food for six people. She took a little bit of everything that looked appetizing, and arranged it on her plate so that it looked like she couldn't fit anymore. The twins each had three helpings, Braden had two. She was stuffed after one.

After the meal, Kate went back to her room with Mrs. Parker's reminder, "It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

She was asleep by ten o'clock.

* * *

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